FC Ingolstadt 04

FC Ingolstadt 04

Full name	Fußball-Club Ingolstadt 04 e.V.
Nickname(s)	Die Schanzer
Founded	5 February 2004; 20 years ago (2004-02-05)
Ground	Audi Sportpark
Capacity	15,800
Chairman	Peter Jackwerth
Head coach	Sabrina Wittmann
League	3. Liga
2023–24	3. Liga, 10th of 20
Website	http://www.fcingolstadt.de/
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Fußball-Club Ingolstadt 2004 e.V., commonly known as FC Ingolstadt 04 or FC Ingolstadt, is a German football club based in Ingolstadt, Bavaria. The club was founded in 2004 out of the merger of the football sides of two other clubs: ESV Ingolstadt-Ringsee 1919 and MTV Ingolstadt 1881.

ESV Ingolstadt (Eisenbahner-Sportverein Ingolstadt-Ringsee e.V.) was founded in 1919 as FC Viktoria. Two years later the football players of Turnverein 1861 Ingolstadt joined the club to form VfR Ingolstadt. A number of other clubs from the Ringsee district fused with this club, but to little effect. The club's achievement amounted to not more than a couple of seasons spent in the Gauliga Bayern in 1936–38. After World War II, the club was re-constituted as VfR Ingolstadt, changed its name to Erster Sportverein Ingolstadt (First Sports Club Ingolstadt) in 1951 and then changed it again to its current form in 1953 when "E" came to stand for Eisenbahner to reflect its affiliation with the railway.

ESV Ingolstadt joined the Regionalliga Süd (II) in 1963 when the Bundesliga – Germany's professional football league – was formed. After bouncing between tiers II and III, capped with two seasons spent in 2. Bundesliga Süd from 1979 to 1981, the club began a descent through tier III to Landesliga Bayern-Süd (IV), last playing in 1993–94. The sports club itself carried on until it went bankrupt in the summer of 2004 and those football players there were left to join FC Ingolstadt 04. ESV continues to operate today offering a number of other sports activities while acknowledging FC 04 on its website.

MTV Ingolstadt (Männer-Turn-Verein von 1881 Ingolstadt) is the city's largest sportsclub with 3,400 members and has an on-and-off relationship with its football side. The club was founded in 1881 and took up football in 1905. The footballers set up a separate club in 1924, but returned to the fold in 1933 at the direction of sports authorities in the Third Reich. After World War II occupying Allied authorities ordered the dissolution of all organizations in Germany, including sporting associations. The club was re-founded as Städtischer SV Ingolstadt 1881. Their original name was restored in 1948.

MTV spent two seasons in 2. Bundesliga Süd after Amateurliga Bayern champion 1. FC Haßfurt declined promotion in 1978. When ESV faced bankruptcy in 2004, MTV allowed its footballers to leave to help form FC Ingolstadt.

Newly formed FC Ingolstadt began play in the Oberliga Bayern (IV) and managed to finish second in their first season In 2004–05.^[1][2] Their success continued in 2005–06 when they captured the divisional title and won promotion. They finished their debut Regionalliga Süd (III) campaign 2006–07 with a fifth-place result. League restructuring was planned for the 2008–09 season with the introduction of a national third division and FC would have to finish their 2007–08 Regionalliga season in the top 10 to qualify. They exceeded that goal by finishing second and advancing to the 2. Bundesliga.

Ingolstadt won its debut second division match, but the following months proved less successful for the club and by the mid-winter break they had dropped to 12th place. The latter half of the season proved even worse with the club only realizing 1 win in 18 matches. They finished the season in 17th place and were subsequently relegated to the 3. Liga.

FC delivered a steady performance in third division play and ended their campaign in third place. A new promotion/relegation format accompanied the introduction of the 3. Liga and the club's finish earned them a play-off versus Hansa Rostock which had finished in 16th (third last) place in the 2. Bundesliga. Ingolstadt won both legs of the two match play-off and returned to the second division alongside the top two third-tier teams which advanced automatically by virtue of their finishes.

On 17 May 2015, they clinched the 2014–15 2. Bundesliga title and won promotion for the first time in their history to the Bundesliga.^[3] Ingolstadt finished 11th in the 2015–16 Bundesliga, but the following year they fell to 17th and were relegated back to the 2. Bundesliga.

In the 2018–19 2. Bundesliga, Ingolstadt finished 16th and lost the relegation playoff against SV Wehen Wiesbaden on away goals.

In the 2019–20 3. Liga qualified for the promotion playoffs, but suffered more heartbreak, as a last second goal from Fabian Schleusener saw Ingolstadt lose to FC Nürnberg on away goals.^[4]

In the 2020–21 3. Liga, Ingolstadt were once again part of the relegation playoffs, and a 3–0 win over VfL Osnabrück in the first leg gave them the advantage heading into the second leg.^[5] Despite a 3–1 loss in the second leg, Ingolstadt won 4–3 on aggregate, and won promotion to the 2021–22 2. Bundesliga.^[6] The club were relegated back to the 3. Liga on the 31st matchday after a 2–2 draw against Karlsruhe.^[7]

In May 2024, the club announced that the previous U19 coach Sabrina Wittmann would coach the men's team until the end of the season. She was the first female head coach in German professional football.^[8]

The team aimed for promotion to the Regionalliga in its first season in the Bayernliga, but ended up in second place behind SpVgg Bayreuth, which delayed promotion by a year. After retaining the Regionalliga in 2006/07, FC Ingolstadt 04's objective for the second Regionalliga season in 2007/08 was to qualify for the new 3rd division and, if possible, even gain promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga. During the winter break, coach Jürgen Press publicly confirmed for the first time that he was aiming for the second division, but the FCI management did not trust him to achieve this and suspended Press on 1 January 2008. Three days later, Thorsten Fink was introduced as the new coach. Under him, Ingolstadt was promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga with a 2:0 victory over SpVgg Unterhaching on 31 May 2008.

After finishing the first half of the first Bundesliga season in twelfth place, but then going eleven games without a win in the second half of the season and slipping to a relegation spot, Thorsten Fink was suspended on 21 April 2009. On 5 April, the club had given him a job guarantee until the end of the season and supervisory board member Andreas Schleef said in an interview on 17 April that a change of coach no longer made sense at this point. Michael Wiesinger, who had previously coached the U23s, stepped in as interim head coach for a few days. Horst Köppel became the new head coach on 26 April, but the run of winless matches continued under him. Relegation was sealed on matchday 32 with a 1-0 home defeat against FC St. Pauli.

On 9 November 2009, Köppel was released after a home defeat against Wuppertal. Co-trainer Michael Wiesinger took over the training. At the end of the 2009/10 third division season, the team finished third and played in two relegation matches against Hansa Rostock. FCI won both games (1-0 at home, 2-0 in Rostock) and thus managed an immediate return to Bundesliga 2.

However, the start to the 2010/11 season was a clear failure. After eleven games, FC Ingolstadt finished bottom of the table with just four points. Following a 2:1 defeat against Energie Cottbus on matchday 11, coach Wiesinger and assistant coach Uwe Wolf were sacked. Benno Möhlmann was introduced as his successor on 7 November 2010, with Sven Kmetsch as his new assistant coach. Almost exactly one year later, the club parted ways with Möhlmann and his assistant coach. At this point, FC Ingolstadt was in 18th place in the table with just nine points from 14 games. Tomas Oral was presented as the new coach on 10 November. Together with him, Thomas Linke was introduced as the new sporting director.

After a mixed 2012/13 season overall, which ended in 13th place, Oral was dismissed on 28 May 2013. Marco Kurz, who had previously worked for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and had led 1. FC Kaiserslautern to the Bundesliga in 2010, was appointed as his successor for the 2013/14 season. However, after just nine match days and the seventh defeat - Ingolstadt was bottom of the table - the club parted company with Kurz on 30 September. On 4 October 2013, he hired Austrian Ralph Hasenhüttl as the new head coach, who led Ingolstadt to 10th place. The second division club extended Hasenhüttl's contract until 2016 and on 19 October 2014, the team won 1-0 at FSV Frankfurt. This was the 18th consecutive away match without defeat, a feat that no other club had achieved in the 40-year history of the Bundesliga 2.Ingolstadt remained unbeaten away from home until matchday 14, a run of 19 matches.

Starting the 2014/15 season as outsiders, they won the second division championship at the end of the season and were promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time. On 11 July 2015, the club was awarded the Bavarian Sports Prize in the "Personal Prize of the Bavarian Minister President" category.

In the first season, the team managed to stay in the league without being relegated for a single match day. The professional team set a record on 19 September 2015: With a 1:0 win at Werder Bremen and the preceding victories on 15 August 2015 at 1. FSV Mainz 05 and on 29 August 2015 at FC Augsburg, FC Ingolstadt 04 had become the first Bundesliga promoted team to win its first three away matches. After surprise victories at home against Schalke and Borussia Mönchengladbach, the Schanzer team ended up in eleventh place. During the summer break, coach Hasenhüttl moved to new league rivals RB Leipzig for a record fee. Markus Kauczinski was introduced as his successor. The start to the 2016/17 season did not go according to the expectations of those responsible and Kauczinski was dismissed after just two points from ten games. Maik Walpurgis was appointed as the new coach on 12 November. Despite an improved performance in the second half of the season, the team was unable to avoid relegation on match day 33 after a draw at SC Freiburg.

The 2017/18 season began with a 1-0 home defeat against Union Berlin. After two further defeats against Sandhausen and Regensburg, Walpurgis was dismissed. His successor was former professional footballer Stefan Leitl, who had already spent the last six years of his playing career in the service of FC Ingolstadt 04. After working their way up to fourth place and coming within a few points of the top three, the Schanzers slipped back into mid-table at the end of the season. As a result, they only finally secured their place in the league with a 2-0 win at Eintracht Braunschweig on matchday 33. After victories against TSV 1860 München and SpVgg Greuther Fürth, the team reached the round of 16 in the DFB Cup for the second time in the club's history, but was eliminated against the outsiders SC Paderborn from the 3rd football league.

The following year, the Schanzers were again knocked out of the cup by Paderborn, albeit in the first round. With just five points from six league games, the team fell far short of expectations in sporting terms. After a clear 6:0 defeat at VfL Bochum and a 0:1 at home against FC St. Pauli, coach Leitl was dismissed on 23 September 2018. Alexander Nouri was introduced as his successor. Despite the change of coach, the club was unable to turn its fortunes around and also parted ways with sporting director Angelo Vier on 23 October. The first point under Nouri was not scored until the 11th matchday at home against MSV Duisburg. On 26 November, after a 2-0 defeat against Dynamo in Dresden, Nouri was also sacked, leaving the team in last place in the table[28]. After youth coach Roberto Pätzold had coached the team in one match, Jens Keller was appointed as the new head coach before matchday 16. Keller was also unable to lead the team out of the bottom of the table and was replaced by Tomas Oral after matchday 27, when the team was bottom of the table.

Under Oral, the team won five of their last seven league games and moved up to 16th place in the table, which entitled them to take part in the relegation play-off against SV Wehen Wiesbaden. The first leg in Wiesbaden was won 2:1, but FCI lost the second leg 3:2 in front of their home crowd and were relegated to the 3rd division due to the away goals rule.

The team underwent a major shake-up for the 2019/20 season and the contracts of long-serving players such as Marvin Matip and Almog Cohen were not extended or were cancelled. Luxembourg's Jeff Saibene and his assistant Carsten Rump, a coaching duo who had already trained together at Arminia Bielefeld, joined the Schanzers. At the start of the season, they picked up ten points in four games and were top of the table. After temporarily slipping to eighth place in the table, they were able to work their way back up to second place behind fellow relegated team MSV Duisburg by the winter break. In the second half of the season, which was temporarily interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently played to a close without spectators, they slipped back into mid-table and brought Tomas Oral to the Danube for his third spell in charge. Under him, the Schanzers were able to get back into the promotion race and reached fourth place with a 2-0 win at TSV 1860 München on the final matchday, which entitled them to relegation to the 2nd Bundesliga against 1. FC Nürnberg, as FC Bayern München U23, who were top of the table, were not eligible for promotion. After a 2-0 defeat in Nuremberg in the first leg and a 3-1 win at home in the second leg (Ingolstadt led 3-0 until the sixth minute of injury time before Nuremberg managed to score), promotion was narrowly missed due to the away goals rule. In the DFB Cup, the Schanzers were knocked out in the first round against second-division side 1. FC Nürnberg with a 1-0 defeat,[33] while in the Bavarian Cup they were beaten on penalties by 1. FC Schweinfurt 05 in the round of 16. FC Ingolstadt again reached the promotion relegation play-offs in the following season 2020/21, winning 3-0 in the first match against second-bottom VfL Osnabrück.[35] Despite a 3-1 defeat in the second leg, they returned to the Bundesliga 2 after two years in the third tier.

Following promotion, the club and Tomas Oral parted ways by mutual agreement. Roberto Pätzold, who had previously coached the A-Juniors, became the new head coach for the 2021/22 season. After one win, one draw and six defeats from the first eight league games, he was replaced by André Schubert in 17th place. FC Ingolstadt 04 also parted company with sporting director Florian Zehe. After eight games without a win in the league and a DFB Cup exit against Borussia Dortmund, Schubert was dismissed on 8 December 2021. His successor was Rüdiger Rehm, under whom the club finished the first half of the season in last place with seven points. Although performances improved in the second half of the season, relegation was certain on match day 31.

After the team was relegated to the 3rd division, CEO Peter Jackwerth said: "Our desire and will is to get promoted again straight away. We are putting the pressure on with the opportunities we have. But not in terms of time." While 20 players left, ten were signed and a number of A-junior players were also called up to the squad; the club also retained coach Rehm. At the winter break, FC Ingolstadt were level on points with third-placed SV Wehen Wiesbaden in fourth place, but ten points separated the "Schanzers" from league leaders SV Elversberg. Of 11 games after the winter break, FC Ingolstadt lost nine (including a 4-1 defeat to Wehen Wiesbaden), drew one and won one, before slipping to 12th place in the table. As a result, the club parted ways with Rüdiger Rehm after matchday 20 and replaced him with Italian Guerino Capretti, who had coached Ingolstadt's fellow relegated team Dynamo Dresden until spring 2022. Sports director Malte Metzelder also terminated his contract in mid-March 2023.

On 4 April, the "Schanzers" parted ways with coach Guerino Capretti after 62 days in office. He was replaced by Michael Köllner. FC Ingolstadt finished the 2022-23 third division season in eleventh place. At the beginning of May 2024, the club parted ways with Köllner during the 2023/24 season and replaced him with Sabrina Wittmann, who had previously coached the U19 team. FC Ingolstadt now has the first female head coach in German men's professional football. FC Ingolstadt managed to win the Bavarian State Cup for the first time in the club's history with its head coach Sabrina Wittmann by beating Würzburger Kickers 2:1 in the final.

• District sports centre Ingolstadt

• Opening 1971

• District sports centre Mitte, Friedhofstr. 10, 85049 Ingolstadt

• Capacity: 8,000 seats

• FC Ingolstadt 04 played its regional league home matches here until the 2007/08 season

• ESV Stadium Ingolstadt
• Opening 1932
• South-east district sports centre, Geisenfelder Straße 1, 85053 Ingolstadt
• Capacity: 11,418 seats
• On 23 November 2007, those responsible at FC Ingolstadt 04 learned that a move from the MTV Stadium to the ESV Stadium would be unavoidable in the event of promotion to the third or second division. According to the DFB, this was the only place that would fulfil the strict requirements set by the German Football Association for the new 3rd division. The MTV stadium would be out of the question simply because of its spectator capacity, as 10,000 seats are required for the 3rd division. However, the ageing ESV Stadium in the Ringsee district was only a stopover.

• Audi Sportpark Ingolstadt
• Venue of FC Ingolstadt 04 since the 2010/11 season
• Am Sportpark 1, 85053 Ingolstadt
• Capacity: 15,200 seats
• Opening on 24 July 2010
• A new, fully covered stadium under the working title "Audi-Sportpark" with space for 15,200 spectators (9,200 seated and 6,000 standing) was completed on the former Bayernoil refinery site in the east of Ingolstadt.^[9] The construction costs of approx. 25 million euros, in which the Ingolstadt-based car manufacturer and shirt sponsor Audi contributed 5 million euros for the naming rights to the stadium, the city of Ingolstadt provided a deficiency guarantee. The Group owns both the stadium and the club's training ground via its subsidiary Audi Immobilien Verwaltung GmbH, which has held 100% of the shares in FC Ingolstadt Stadionbetreiber GmbH since 2013.^[10]

FC Ingolstadt 04 II played the 2011–12 season in the Regionalliga Süd after finishing runners-up in the Bayernliga and taking FC Ismaning's promotion spot after the later declined promotion. In the 2012–13 season the team played in the new Regionalliga Bayern.

The club nickname Die Schanzer has a military background, meaning trenchmen or rampartmen. The official club anthem is called "Schanzer Herz", performed by Ingolstadt-based hard rock band Bonfire. The stadium's goal theme song is "Esellied", performed by South Tyrol band Volxrock. The pre-kick-off song is "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC.

When FC Ingolstadt 04 emerged from the merger in 2004, the supporters of FC Ingolstadt were made up of the former fans of both predecessor clubs. The former rivals between the "Staderer", as MTV Ingolstadt liked to be dubbed by "those out there" (ESV Ingolstadt), became friends and allies.^[11]

The fan scene in Ingolstadt developed slowly in the first few years after the club was founded in 2004. Since the club was promoted back to the Bundesliga 2 and moved to the Audi-Sportpark, however, an increase in active fans has been observed. There are currently 40 fan clubs officially recognized by the club (as of 29 June 2020).^[12]

The "Red-Rebelz" group was founded back in the years when FC Ingolstadt was still playing in the regional league. This is considered the forerunner of today's Ultra group. In 2008, the "Supporters Ingolstadt" were finally formed.^[13] In December 2008, the Black Red Company (BRC '08) fan group was founded.^[14]Other well-known groups include the Insieme Boys, the Common Sense Crew, the Bande 8070, the XII. Legion, Nouvelle Generation (in the meantime Supporters Ingolstadt), the Torkelschanzer and IN Kognito.^[15][16]

The "Südtribüne Ingolstadt" fan block is located behind the goal with around 3,000 standing places. The Südtribüne Ingolstadt is divided into blocks U and V.

When fans of Schanzer midfielder Almog Cohen displayed the flag of his home country Israel in the stadium on April 26, 2015 in support of him at the away match against 1. FC Union Berlin, the police commander in charge ordered the flag to be rolled up to avert danger. Because of the large Palestinian community in Berlin, no political statement was desired in the stadium. When Cohen asked whether flags from other countries were also banned, he was told that this only applied to the "Jewish" flag. The Berlin police chief later apologized for the incident.^[17]

The Ingolstadt fan project has also existed since 2021.^[18] The fan project focuses on the socio-educational support and guidance of the young soccer fan scene from the entire region.^[19]

Günter Grünwald, presenter and cabaret artist^[20]

Markus Kavka, presenter, journalist, author and DJ^[21]

Horst Seehofer, politician^[22]

The various fan groups maintain fan friendships with fans of SV Wehen Wiesbaden, SpVgg Unterhaching and SM Caen from France.^[23]

Members of the clubs' organised fan scenes regularly visit each other's matches and are in regular contact.

The fans of Fc Ingolstadt often create choreographies that emphasise their friendship with other clubs.

The fans also maintain contact with fans of the Scottish football club Raith Rovers from Ingolstadt's twin town Kirkcaldy.^[24]

The fans are most antipathetic towards SSV Jahn Regensburg,^[25] but matches against FC Augsburg^[26][27] are also prestigious among the fans. In the 2014/15 season, several choreographies emphasised a dislike of RB Leipzig.

Since 2012, the club has had a mascot called Schanzi, which represents a red panther (medieval fantasy creature)

The song Schanzer Herz by the Ingolstadt band Bonfire is the official club anthem of FC Ingolstadt 04.^[28] There are also several other fan songs. An adaptation of the Esellied song by the South Tyrolean party band Volxrock is played as the goal anthem at home matches.

A new edition of the stadium newspaper "Schanzer Bladdl" is published for every home game.

shows the club's connection to the city of Ingolstadt and its history. The rulers and governors of the city on the Danube have always appreciated and protected its strategic location at the river crossing and on important trade routes. This is why the expansion of Ingolstadt into a Bavarian state fortress began in 1537. During this time, Ingolstadt was given the name 'die Schanz', which still reminds us today of Ingolstadt's past as a fortress city.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  GER Marius Funk 2 DF  GER Mattis Hoppe 6 DF  GAM Leon Guwara 7 FW  GER Dennis Borkowski 8 MF  AUT Benjamin Kanuric 9 FW  GER Tim Heike 10 FW  GER Maximilian Dittgen 11 FW  DEN Sebastian Grønning 16 DF  USA Ryan Malone 17 MF  GER Max Besuschkow 18 DF  GER Niclas Dühring 19 DF  BIH Mladen Cvjetinović

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 MF  GER Yannick Deichmann 22 DF  GER Marcel Costly 23 DF  GER Moritz Seiffert 29 MF  POL David Kopacz 30 FW  SRB Ognjen Drakulic 32 DF  GER Simon Lorenz 34 MF  GER Lukas Fröde (captain) 37 FW  GER Pascal Testroet 38 FW  GER Deniz Zeitler 41 GK  ALB Simon Simoni (on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt) 43 MF  GER Felix Keidel 46 GK  GER Maurice Dehler

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  GER Markus Ponath (at FV Illertissen until 30 June 2025) — DF  GER Donald Nduka (at KSV Hessen Kassel until 30 June 2025)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  USA Bryang Kayo (at VfL Osnabrück until 30 June 2025)

• ^‡ Reserve team

Position	Name
Head Coach	Sabrina Wittmann
Assistant Head Coach	Fabian Reichler Iliya Gruev
Goalkeeping Coach	Robert Wulnikowski
Athletic Coach	Luca Schuster
Rehab Coach	Christian Liefke
Match Analysis	Nico Hurst
Managing Director	Dietmar Beiersdorfer
Sporting Director	Ivica Grlić
Team Coordinator	Marcel Posselt
Commercial Director / Head of Media and Communications	Florian Günzler
Head of Scouting	Marius Reiher
Scout	Björn Ganser
Youth Chief Scout	Jannis Fischer
Doctor	Dr. Alexander Röhrl
Physiotherapists	Noah Attmanspacher Dominik Dürrschmidt
Medical Director	Georg Meyer
Press officer	Kristina Richter
Kit Manager	Michael Klattenbacher
Club Representative	Werner Roß
Team Manager	Lisa Deutschmann
Academy Manager	Roland Reichel Dr. Philipp Kaß

Source:^[31]

Source:^[32][33][34]

• With the introduction of the Regionalligas in 1994 and the 3. Liga in 2008 as the new third tier, below the 2. Bundesliga, all leagues below dropped one tier. With the establishment of the Regionalliga Bayern as the new fourth tier in Bavaria in 2012 the Bayernliga was split into a northern and a southern division, the number of Landesligas expanded from three to five and the Bezirksoberligas abolished. All leagues from the Bezirksligas onwards were elevated one tier.

Key

The club has qualified for the first round of the German Cup 16 times:^[35]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to FC Ingolstadt 04.

• Official website
• Fc Ingolstadt Tickets
• Official team site (ESV Ingolstadt)
• Official team site (MTV Ingolstadt)
• The Abseits Guide to German Soccer
• FC Ingolstadt 04 at Weltfussball.de